Your phone buzzes. A reminder flashes on the screen. A lump clogs your
throat. You have a deadline, and it is today.

We all know the feeling of inadvertently letting something slip off our
radar and then realizing it much too late. It’s not pleasant. The
responsibility of meeting deadlines applies to us all, whether we’re
parents, chefs, CEOs, teachers, reporters, PR pros or otherwise occupied.

There are common mistakes to avoid to ensure you beat the clock. Here’s our
list of the seven cardinal sins related to workplace deadlines:

1. You assume you don’t need approval or review.
Give yourself (and your colleagues) plenty of time to review, revise and/or
approve the respective project. Don’t expect that no one else has to see it
before it’s considered complete. It’s very likely someone does, and at the
very least, it’s always helpful to have another pair of eyes on the work.

2. You call in sick the day it’s due.
It’s bad enough when something falls through the cracks. Don’t make matters
worse by playing hooky and letting the burden fall on others. Still,
situations do arise when you are genuinely unable to work on deadline day.
For those unpredictable instances, always prepare and convey the necessary
steps and information so that someone else can complete the task
seamlessly.

3. You don’t ask questions.
If something is unclear, it’s better to ask about it up front than to waste
time heading down the wrong avenue. Review requirements at the outset, and
discuss any questions with the appropriate stakeholders. Clarity is the
mother of productivity. Meeting a deadline is only successful if the
completed work meets its criteria.

4. You wait until the last minute to start.
Some of you might still have recurring nightmares about this from your
school years. Procrastination breeds panic. It’s easy to underestimate the
amount of time, effort and resources required to complete a given project.
Start early so that you don’t wake up with dread on deadline day. There is
only so much you can do in so many hours. Plan accordingly.

5. You don’t communicate the project’s status.
Most likely, you have colleagues involved in the project you’re working on.
It’s always a good idea to communicate the status of your work at each
stage so that collaborators are informed and up to date. This also serves
as a safety net: Other people can often spot potential problems that you
might miss if you’re working in a silo.

6. You expect everything will run smoothly.
Regardless of how optimistic you are or how much confidence you have in
yourself and in others, you should afford yourself a buffer in case there
are unforeseen setbacks. Set a soft deadline ahead of the actual, final
deadline; that way you’ll always have extra time in your pocket.

7. You don’t create a schedule.
Schedules and sub-deadlines are effective tools for staying on track. For
larger tasks, try mapping out the various steps and checkpoints throughout
the process. Even for smaller assignments, understanding from the outset
who is doing what, and by when, makes it less likely that an important box
is left unchecked when deadline day arrives.